The India AI Impact Summit 2026 concluded in New Delhi with a declaration signed by 86 countries and two international organisations, signalling a shift in global thinking about artificial intelligence — from regulating risk to shaping societal impact. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said nations including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Denmark and Germany endorsed principles centred on welfare, accessibility and shared technological growth.
India positioned its approach as “human-centric AI”, focusing on democratising access to computing resources, datasets and applications so that artificial intelligence benefits wider society rather than a limited set of corporations. The declaration emphasised safety, trust and accountability alongside economic growth, reflecting growing international concern that technological expansion must also address social harmony and ethical governance.
Held from February 16 to 21 at Bharat Mandapam, the summit drew over five lakh visitors and delegates from 118 countries. Discussions ranged from multilingual translation tools and digital inclusion to fears of job disruption and the high energy demands of data centres. Investment commitments exceeding USD 250 billion were announced for AI infrastructure, including data centres and semiconductor facilities.
India also showcased three domestic AI models — Sarvam AI’s large language models, Gnani.ai’s Vachana speech system supporting multiple languages, and BharatGen’s multilingual foundation model Param2 17B — highlighting efforts to build local technological capability alongside policy leadership.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined the “MANAV” framework for AI governance: Moral systems, Accountable governance, National sovereignty, Accessible design and Valid use. The summit further proposed an “AI Commons” concept, encouraging shared computing capacity and datasets for developing nations to avoid concentration of technological power.
The next edition of the global AI summit is scheduled in Geneva in 2027, where participating countries are expected to review progress on collaborative frameworks agreed in New Delhi.
